Improved car-coupling



PATENTED- JULY 21, 1868.

I D. BEALS.- GAR GOUPLING.

STATES- PATENT OFFICE-P DAVID s. ZB LS,

IMPROVED" oA -oo u L Neor ADRIAN, M IcnieA N, sssrenoa To sms ELF-ANDK O YQUNit F1SAME-PL QE-LIT."

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. S0,ll7 dated July 21, 1868.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, DAVID S. -BEALS, of

Adrian, in the county ofvLenawee and Stateof Michigan, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Car-Gouplings;- and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description thereof, refere'nce'being had the accompanying drawings, which are made a part of this specification. t

The subject of my invention is a car-coup lingin which the coupling medium proper consists of a pair of spring-clutches having barbed opposing ends, and so arranged as when the cars are brought together to couple' automatically, and when thus'conpled to be incapable 01' separation except by the appointed means, a novel and simple construction of butfer being employed to prevent any deleterious results of the concussion of the cars in coupling or by accident. i

' 1n the drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional view of portions of the contiguous ends of a pair of cars having my improved butter and coupling applied on the horizontal "plane indicated by .the line as .90, Fig. 3. Fig. 2 is an under-side ,view with certain parts removed. Fig.3- represents a longitudinal section on the line 3/ y,

Fig. 2, and a side elevation of the respective couplings, &c. A A may represent portions of the customfor'the reception of the stems b of the butters D and theirsurroundin g springs E. The stems d have an enlarged (if preferred, tubular) portion, (1, which fits snugly the interior of the thimbles (J, as shown, and their contracted portions pass through central apertures, c, in the bottoms-of said thimbles, the abutment, &c., being cut away behind them sufficiently to allow of the requisite amount of movement.

The butters D may be constructed as represented in Figs. 1 and 3 and their stems 11 secured to them as shown in those figures, or in any other suitable manner. Their ends have rigidly secured to them guide or stay rods E, which, passing through the abutments and sills of the platforms, as shown, are screw-threaded and provided with nuts f, by which the degree of movement of said bulfers may be regulated.

G G H H represent,respectively, pairs of jaws or coupling-bars on the cars A and A, respectively. These bars are pivoted at g and .hto bars I and J, whichare secured to the customary draw-springs in the usual manner.

They (the barsG H and G H) are respectively constructed with barbed heads 9 andh and hook-heads g and'h, which engage with each other, as shown in Fig. 2, in such a man-- her, as to entirely preclude the possibility of uncoupling by any distortion of the position of the cars. The jaws are pressed together by springs K L and opened by cams M onfvertical shafts N which are pivoted at theirglower ends in hangers O, which also support the loose ends of the coupling-jaws, and above the coupling-jaws in brackets a at the top of the car, as shown, when used on a freightcar. or in suita- .,ble bearings at the floor of the platform or other convenient point for the sameor other stylesof cars. Hand-wheels N are provided on the upper endsof theshafts N, by which to rotate said shafts, andarms n at project from them at about right angles at any convenient point for the purposeof holding the cams-in their different positions. Brackets P P are provided in suitable positions to receive thearms a n, and the upturned ends of said arms may form the handles by which to operate the said shaft.

Pins Qand It project from the under sides of the cou ling-bars Gand H, and bent levers S project 'rom the lower end of the shafts N at such an angle relatively to the cams M that when the jaws are held open "by said camssaid levers shall so project as to engage with the pin on the bar of the other-car to such an extent as to return the cam and allow the jaws to close, each car thus in separating resetting the coupling of the one to which it had been coupled.

Having thus described my invention, the

-following is what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent:

1. The combination of the hinged jaws or bars G G H H, the spring draw-bars I J,

springs K L, and. cams M, all constructed, ar-

ranged, and operating as described, for the pflrposes specified.

2. The combination, with the cams M for operating the sprin g-coupliugs G G and H H, the arms n n for holding said cams in their difl'cren't positions, and the pins Q R and camarms S for returning, the couplingsto their closed position as the cars separate, an. ar-

"ranged and. operating substantially as described.

3; The hufl'ers D, stems d d, thimbles O, springs E, and rods F, all constructed and. ar ranged substantially as described, and employed in combination with a self-locking carconpling, for the purpose set forth.

To the above specification of my improvement in car-couplings I have signed my hand this 18th day of May, A. DQ186S. v

' DAVID, s. BEALS.

Attest:

N. B. FAssE'rT, MARY A. McNAIR. 

